The Rise Up Ride: Day 55-56, Cycling Hajj: All Roads Lead to Missoula
Date: 16-17 June 2021
Start Location: Darby, MT
End Location: Missoula, MT
Distance: 102 km
Time: 5:08
Total elapsed: 6:56
Elevation: 303 m
Wednesday's ride was pure joy, cashing in hard-won altitude during a gentle descent (mostly) down the Bitterroot Bike Trail from Curtis' home in Darby to Missoula. It was a long pedal after two days climbing three mountain passes and across the Big Hole, but the winds were light, the sun brilliant and there were frequent places along this busy valley to grab coffee, burritos and ice-cream, the three most important food groups for the touring cyclist.
What a shock to my idle pedaling reverie when John Sloan appeared fully-loaded and brightly-clad pushing up the path, eastbound on the Trans America route. He called out, "Hey, are you Kimo? Jim Sayer says hello." John's from Delta Junction in Alaska and gave me a wooden nickel and an invitation to drop by next month on my way from Fairbanks to Tok. He'd just run into Jim Sayer, an old friend from Missoula who was riding up Lolo Pass with his daughter. Jim asked him to convey greetings since he knew I was rolling into town. Later that night I mentioned this to Frosene and her husband John, who are cycling back the way I came on the Parks, Peaks and Prairies Route, who screamed, "John?! We've been riding with him for the past few days!" It's a small world on two wheels around this part of Montana.
At the intersection of several long-distance cycling routes and home to the Adventure Cycling Association and its family of current and ex-staffers, this place is a sort of mecca for bikers, and has been a frequent stop for me over the years. A rugged outdoorsy bohemian enclave of a college town with a river that famously "runs through it", Missoula is a great place to see friends, get your picture taken for the wall of cycling tourists at ACA Headquarters, pedal around on first-class cycling infrastructure, and soak up the bright blue vibe.
Frosene and I have been going back and forth on Facebook for months, getting ready for our upcoming tours, figuring if we might meet along the way. What were the chances that we would all have overlapping layover days in Missoula? And what were the chances that we'd all be spending two consecutive nights all bunking in at our friends Shawn & Arlen's on Wednesday night and then Thursday night at our friends Jim & Wendy's home. It was a traveling party. Trail Magic! It happens. What an incredible time was had by all, and a special thanks to Shawn, Jim and Wendy for being the greatest hosts and very special people. Thank you.
The only shocking thing that happened was during my ritual visit to the Adventure Cycling offices for the traditional "weighing of the fully-loaded bicycle." I'm equipped for at least five days, unsupported for food and lodging, in the cold rain. I'm not traveling light, with lots of spares, tools, calories, electronics, and cooking gear. The titanium Seven with racks, four panniers, Sweetroll with tent and sleeping pad between the drops, frame bags, Watershed Ocoee Drybag, and five liters of water came in at exactly 50 kilos (110 lbs). I was surprised but also chuffed to "own" the fact that I moved that much bike during eight weeks over some lumpy terrain. But, next trip I'm going on a gear diet with an adventure to explore somewhere with fewer extremes e menos kilos à levar.
Tomorrow I'll ride north, forsaking the scenic but longer route up past Swan Lake, for a straight shot past Flathead Lake in order to arrive in Whitefish on Sunday, three days hence, to catch a train.
